Washington is Behind Us

There is a thunder and lightning storm tonight in eastern Oregon. The bus was parked and hooked up just before it began. Ironically it stopped just long enough to go snag the 5 boxes in the area. The planter is no longer active, but the boxes are viable and a good excuse to pick here as a stopping place for the night. 262 miles is a bit of a long day for me; usually I like to keep it under 200. However, the day was broken up by a stop at the truck wash to get at least a couple layers of dirt off the rig.

Washington is now in the past. The thirteen months there were personally and spiritually life changing and good. Certain family relationships have been strengthened and I had opportunity to sit under teaching that I will take with me for the rest of my earthly days. But I did miss letterboxing. The LB community thinks of Washington as having rich mines of boxes, somehow I landed in the one area that wasn't. And, as I search my next long term stop, it has a deficit as well. However, the road between is rich, very rich. It is rich in boxes and in friends and in boxing friends.

This journey is the first time there hasn't been a plan in place from the beginning. Perhaps not set with indelible ink, but at least one in pencil. This one is coming together a leg at a time. It is an odd feeling to not have a plan, to live literally in the day or the week and not beyond. True, there is a longer range deadline, but the in between is not structured. On the downside, it is harder to maintain discipline without routine. My daily challenge is to create a routine within the chaos. To spend time with Jesus before the key hits the ignition whether on the road or the trail. In the same respect, not having a plan is allowing me to think outside the box and spend quality time with friends I wouldn't otherwise get to see. There is no rush to get to the next destination because it is written on the calendar. With the internet and email I can check out resources for the next stop. Last night a church parking lot, tonight a small RV park where several housekeeping items can get taken care of for the next leg. Last week a back yard, next week a driveway. Everyday is an adventure of people and places.

On the other hand, this trip is reminding me that Plan A of my RVing life has ended and there is not real Plan B. When I started this in '04 I figured 5 or 6 years and I'd be done and landed somewhere because I would not be able to do it any more. Instead of deteriorating as the medical doctors predicted. I am healthier now than I was for many years. Who could ever have known at that crossroads in 04 that this would be the result. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and listen. When I do, amazing things happen.

Ok.... enough of the rambling.

Here are a few pictures from this week's adventures taken in Vancouver and Troutdale, WA and Vale, OR.